Quote:
Originally Posted by mfblume
The act of sin is distinct from the force of sin. There are two definitions for the word "sin," and Romans 6-7 is speaking of the force while the word is be used in the sense of a verb when it is speaking of the act. |
The Bible says "Sin is the transgression of the law". It also says "whatsoever is without faith is sin" (which is actually a corollary to the first statement, since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, and since man is to live by every word of God, etc).
The Bible does not say "sin is a force distinct from sinful choices, actions, thoughts, etc." There are not two definitions of "sin", there is one: transgression of the law. Sin cannot be identified or recognized apart from the law of God identifying sin (
Romans 7:7). Otherwise, anything could be made to be sin and there would be no objective standard for determining what is sin and what is not sin.
Romans 7, if pressed contrary to the whole of scripture to teach some force of sin independent of acts of sin, will nevertheless also teach that people aren't responsible for their sins if they agree with God that those acts are wrong (v20), and that all people are spiritually alive before learning right from wrong (v9), which are impossibilities.
Romans 6:16-19 clearly and unambiguously teaches the voluntary nature of sinning.
Romans 7 must be understood within context.
Romans 5 does NOT teach that "sin passed upon all men because of Adam", but rather that "death passed upon all men BECAUSE ALL HAVE SINNED."
Romans 7 is designed to show that sinners, who have voluntarily sold themselves to practice unrighteousness (
Romans 6:16-19), are owned by sin and are legally bound to it as a woman is to her husband or a slave is to his master. The Jews under the old covenant did not obey God, and could never obtain righteousness through the deeds of the law, which pronounced death upon them. As Jews they were bound to it until death. But Christ died to free all under the old covenant and loose them to be married to another, that is, loose them to enter the new covenant. But under the old covenant, they could not obtain righteousness, because the commandments of God simply stirred up their own disobedient passions to which they yielded, thus bringing them into bondage to sin. As
Romans 8 says, the law was weak through the flesh, but Christ's death accomplishes what the law could not do.
If Romans teaches an inborn "sin force" it also teaches that regeneration eliminates that "sin force" (
Romans 8:1-11).
But the fact is, sin is the voluntary surrender of the will to passions and desires to do that which is forbidden by the commands of God. All are guilty, not because all are human, or have a degenerated nature (which we do, by the way), but all are guilty because all HAVE SINNED (
Romans 3:23).
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